Episode 118: Year-End Punk Rock Favorites

It’s our annual year-end blowout episode! Mike breaks down some of his favorite punk rock, emo, pop punk, hardcore, Midwest emo, melodic punk albums from the past year. This one’s a doozy — packed with guest picks, special guest appearances, and a ton of music for you to listen to, discover, and hopefully fall in love with. Featuring discussions and music from bands like: Brutalligators, Deforesters,Casper Fight Scene, Dave Hause And The Mermaid,Teen Mortgage – Ultra sonic Dream,Sex Faces – Bad Vibes OST,The Vicious Cycles – Get Wrecked, Spiritual Cramp,The Hives, Ghost Factory – Socialist Trash, Night Committee – Your Plans Mean Nothing, Final Boss Fight, Coheed and Cambria, Creeper, Doug McLean , Arms Length ,Home Front, Tired Radio,Hot Mulligan,Elway ,Ravagers,AFI,School Drugs,Propagandhi ,Hazzerd,The Names of Our Friends,Seth Anderson,Unseemlier,Oh The Humanity,Sam Russo,Little Low, Mike Koop, JSM, Chixdiggit, Sketchy Records, Ways Away,

We love year-end lists, so if you want to send yours in, please do. Half the fun is checking out bands we might’ve overlooked or totally missed, and your list might turn us on to our next favorite records of 2025

If your band is mentioned on the show and you’d prefer it removed, just let us know — no hard feelings. Everything we feature is purely to promote the bands and music we love and want others to check out.

You can find High Fives Punk Rock Podcast on most streaming platforms. Please subscribe, like, leave a comment, or whatever you’re feeling. Honestly though, the best thing you can do is tell a friend to check us out — that helps us way more than anything else.

Find us online:

Instagram: @highfivespodcast

Upscrolled: @highfivespunkrock

Substack: @highfivespunkrockpodcast

High fives,
Mike & Justin ✋

Whether you're into punk, emo, Ska, shreddy metal, or DIY hardcore, one of the best ways to discover new bands is checking them out live. There is something special about a band that can make you fall in love with them without ever hearing them before and its one of those things that is centric to the music we love.

In Episode 117 of the High Fives Punk Rock Podcast, Mike and Justin break down the bands they truly fell in love with only after seeing them live. Have a listen to the episode and hear what bands did this for us and why?

Featuring music and discussions about bands like Larry and His Flask, Kvelertak, Brand New Unit, Automatic 7, The Vandals, Protest the Hero, 3 Inches of Blood, Riot City, Gumm, The Mendozaz, Jimmy Eat World, Ben Quad, Ghost Factory, Mean Jeans, The Weakerthans, School Drugs, Elway, and Coup D'état. Check out the episode and get your lists in too

Special thanks goes out to Daniel for the list suggestion!

Welcome to our Halloween Episode. Who doesn't love a great song to spook up your night? In episode 116 Justin and Mike go through their collections and pick a handful of punk rock songs to get your ready for Halloween. Featuring discussions and music from Alkaline Trio, The Specials, American Television, TBD, AFI, The Dahmers, Messer Chups, Touche Amore, Chixdiggit, The Browns, Night Court!, Pale Lips, Half Dizzy, Vic Ruggerio, Seth Anderson, Structure Sounds, The Caroyln Unicorn Dogs, and more...

Make sure to check out this episode and send your list in too. You can find us @highfivespodcast

We would love to hear your favorite punk and punk adjacent songs get your ready for Halloween and if you are feeling up to it your favorite Halloween Costume or memory.

High Fives Punk Rock podcast is a punk rock podcast featuring music and discussions about bands that we think you should check out so make sure if you find something you like you add the band to your collection however you consume music these days. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts

What’s the punk rock anthem that gets you out of bed, fired up, and ready to take on the world? In Episode 115 of the High Fives Punk Rock Podcast, Mike and Justin dive into their top picks for punk rock songs that motivate and inspire. Features discussions of punk rock, ska, emo, hardcore, pop punk, and bands like NOFX, Rancid, Gorilla Biscuits, Brutalligators, Rise Against, Spanish Love Songs, Death of Guitar Pop, Dick Move, M.U.T.T., Dave Hause, The Eradicator, Saturdays At Your Place, Flinch , Have Mercy, M Krebs and Tired Radio. Make sure to check out this episode and send your list in too. You can find us @highfivespodcast

We would love to hear your favorite punk and punk adjacent songs that motivate you.

In episode 114 of the High Fives Punk Rock Podcast Mike and Justin tackle the art of the short song. What makes a good short song? Why put out a short song? Do we even really like short songs? Regardless most of our punk rock catalogs are filled with short songs, you know those ones under 2 minutes. Some of fast and aggressive. Some are funny. And some are just filler. This episode is our nod to those short kings.

Bands & Artists Mentioned: NOFX, SNFU, Operation Ivy, Chixdiggit, Gob, Origami Angel, Good Riddance, Arms Length, Coheed and Cambria, Houseboat, Burnt Tapes, Lot Lizards, Drought, The Chugs, Sam Russo, Fond

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and discover why the shortest punk songs sometimes make the biggest impact.

🎙️ Episode 113 – Campfire Songs (Punk Rock Edition)
Welcome back to the High Fives Punk Rock Podcast! In this episode, Mike and Justin get cozy around the proverbial campfire to talk campfire songs—but with a twist. This isn't your typical acoustic guitar kumbaya moment. We're diving into the kinds of songs you'd want echoing when you are hanging around a fire chilling with some friends.

🔥 We explore the perfect soundtrack for late-night singalongs and sunrise melancholy, blending genres like punk rock, ska, emo, hardcore, and alt-folk.

🎶 Bands & artists featured in this episode include:
Northcote, Against Me!, The Slackers, Hot Mulligan, Casper Fight Scene, Hepcat, Deforesters, Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties,The Almighty Defenders,Moral Bombing, Leisure Hour, New Swears, Get Dead, and Dan Andriano

Whether you’re roasting marshmallows, crushing some beers or just looking for music that speaks to your punk heart under the stars, this episode has something for everyone.

So grab a cold drink, pull up a chair, and join us for a playlist that’s equal parts cathartic and catchy. Don’t forget to hit Follow or Subscribe and get your list in too. Find us on Instagram @highfivespodcast

Looking for something new to listen to? Maybe you missed out on some of the releases so far this year. We know it is hard to keep up with everything in the digital age. Well guess what? We did some work for you? and you are in your luck because episode 112 of the high fives punk rock podcast is the annual half way through the year episode where we discuss some of our favorite punk and on brand releases for 2025 so far. So have a listen and then send in your lists of best punk , pop punk, ska , emo, hardcore, screamo, indie releases of the year so far. We can't wait to hear what we may have missed. Features discussions about The Raging Nathans, The Last Mile, L.S.Dunes, Unseemlier, Cumulus, Propagandhi, Matty Grace, Little Low, The Kilograms, Sammy Kay, Joe Gittleman, Emma Goldman and the Capser Fight Scene.

Make sure to send in your lists to @highfivespodcast

The High Fives Punk Rock Podcast is a non profit / ad free podcast discussing punk, pop punk,emo,hardcore,emo,metal,screamo,thrash and everything in between and we hope you enjoy what we have to say and play and consider supporting these bands and artists anyway you can.

In Episode 111, Justin and Mike step up to the plate—not to talk baseball stats, but to pick the ultimate punk rock walk-up songs!

You know the songs players use as they head to home plate to smash dingers? We asked: What if those songs came from the world of punk, ska, hardcore, and skacore? Can these high-energy genres bring the heat? Spoiler: yes.

Join us as we break down the tracks we’d use to make our entrance, featuring bands like:

The Isotopes, Propagandhi, NOFX, The Raging Nathans, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, Rat Boy, The International Noise Conspiracy, Crazy & The Brains, The Pietasters, RKL, and more.

We’re talking punk energy, ska attitude, and walk-up anthem potential. It’s loud, fast, and a little ridiculous—just how we like it.

🎧 If you're into punk rock podcasts, music discovery, or just love making playlists with purpose, this episode is for you.